CBM UK

As the eyes of the world turn to the in tomorrow, we prepare to celebrate the incredible achievements of with disabilities from around the world. CBM Champion and former Anne Wafula Strike, an ambassador for 8 years, shares why the Paralympics are so important:

"I think sport is important for people with disabilities because it can both improve their health and their self-esteem. The Paralympics is great for raising awareness as it enables the world to view them differently and believe they can overcome any obstacle if they work hard enough. While sport has value in everyone’s life, it is even more important for people with disabilities because of its rehabilitative influence —not only on the physical body but also in helping them integrate into society and overcome barriers."

We can’t wait to support these incredible athletes! ❤️

📷 Alice Freeman

Channel 4 ParalympicsGB

"The joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10

Father God, we thank you for the wonderful stories of Valerie, Velena, Cyprien - and so many others who have had their sight restored in Rwanda through See The Way. Thank you for all of the supportive family members, skilled medics, generous supporters, and project team members who worked together to make this possible. We thank you for the joy that this project has given to individuals, families and whole communities in Rwanda, and for the encouragement of so many answered prayers along the way. Amen.

We love happy stories ❤️

Meet Cyprien!

Cyprien was one of the people who received sight-saving surgery because of your amazing support for our See the Way appeal in 2019, and match funding from the UK government.

“I can now recognise my wife, my children and my neighbours. I am so happy to be back here. I feel like I am now in a new world. I am free to do anything.”

Sight-saving surgery really does transform lives ❤️

Photo: CBM UK/Habimana

Returning to her village in Rwanda after sight-saving surgery, Valena radiated pure joy as she walked unassisted, taking in the views of the hills once again. Her young granddaughter dashed to her side and Velena embraced her tightly, carrying her all the way home.

With tears of happiness in her eyes, Velena told us: "I am happy to see everyone again. I am happy to see my neighbours and my grandchildren. I am happy to see them all again."

At home was a large gathering of friends, family, and neighbours, all eager to celebrate her return. It was a monumental moment, filled with love, laughter, and overwhelming gratitude.

Your support has not only restored Velena's sight but has brought so much happiness to her entire community.

Before losing her sight to cataracts, Velena was a dedicated farmer, tending to crops that fed her children and grandchildren. But as her vision faded, so did her ability to provide for her family.

Valena told us: "I used to be a farmer, but because I started to lose my sight, I cannot work anymore. I have lost my sight, and because of this, I cannot work on my farm."

Thanks to sight-saving surgery at our local partner organisation in Rwanda, funded by the appeal and match funded by the UK government, Velena's story took a turn for the better. She's now back to doing what she knows and loves best – working on her farm and supporting her family.

Your support has helped restore more than just sight; it's brought back purpose and joy to Velena's life.

Keep an eye out for the next part to Velena’s story.

Great to see our work featured in Premier ❤️

Thousands have sight restored in Rwanda thanks to Christian charity - Premier Christian News | Headlines, Breaking News, Comment & Analysis CBM UK says that together with an eye unit in the Catholic Diocese of Kabgayi, its See the Way Rwanda appeal provided treatment to 35,608 people, including carrying out cataract surgery for almost 2,000 people living in four rural districts.

Meet Velena, nestled in the picturesque landscape of Rwanda, surrounded by lush trees and beautiful skies. Despite this beauty, Valena’s vision was clouded by cataracts, and she couldn’t see any of it.

Getting treatment was nearly impossible for her. Transport to the hospital was expensive and walking there was too dangerous and far. Even with support to travel, the cost of treatment would have been out of reach.

But when our incredible supporters donated to our appeal, you helped fund outreach projects in communities like Velena’s. Your generosity not only provided access to sight-saving services but also gave hope and opportunities to those who need it most.

Keep an eye out for our next post to hear more from Velena’s story.

We're excited to share that our See the Way Rwanda project has reached a major milestone! Thanks to your incredible support, we've made significant progress in the fight against blindness in Rwanda over the last 3 years.

A big shout out to Christian Today for covering our journey. Read the full story below!

CBM UK’s Rwanda project was funded by donations from the UK public and match funding from the UK government through .

Christian charity reaches milestone in combating blindness in Rwanda CBM UK has announced the successful end to their three-year See the Way project, saying that they had been able to raise £845,000 in donations from supporters, pushing the final total over £1.8 million after it was matched by the UK government, as part of the UK Aid Match scheme.

Five years ago, our amazing supporters generously donated over £845,000 to our UK Aid Match See the Way appeal, dedicated to providing vital eye health services in rural Rwanda. This was then matched by the UK government, raising over £1.8 million in total!

Our See the Way Rwanda has brought essential eye care to an incredible 35,608 people!

Valerie is one of those people and she told us: “I can now see everyone, and I can walk around without the support of others.”

Our wonderful CEO, Kirsty Smith said: “The See the Way project has revolutionised the quality and accessibility of eye health services for some of the poorest people across four rural districts in Rwanda. Thank you to all our incredible supporters, partners and the UK government who made this project possible.”

A big thank you to Premier Christian Radio Business Weekly PJ Care Realnet St John's Innovation Centre Clamp Optometrists Ltd - Award Winning Practice Cambridge Independent Cambridge 105 Radio Trinity Hall, Cambridge for supporting our appeal, and to our partners Kabgayi Eye Unit (Catholic Diocese of Kabgayi). Photo: CBM UK/Habimana

Lord, thank you for local partners delivering so much of the work to transform lives. Thank you for inspiring people in the world's poorest countries to work for justice and against poverty, often with limited resources.

©CBM Australia

Zimbabwe is experiencing its worst drought in over 40 years, leaving 7.6 million people in urgent need of food and medical supplies

The education of nearly 2 million children is at risk. With crop failures in rural areas, many children are dropping out of school due to lack of food and money for fees. Those attending school often go without lunch, with children with disabilities being particularly vulnerable.

“We do not have any food in the house. The children are the most affected, especially the school aged. They are going without any food for the whole day. As parents, we are worried that the children may faint at school or on their way home,” says Mrs. Gumangeyi from Zimbabwe.

CBM is providing emergency food and medical services and supporting children with disabilities to continue their education. Please donate today.

Meet Dani from Malawi who is a keen farmer!

But as his eyesight started to fade, it became impossible for him to keep working.

Dani found inspiration in the story of the blind man at Jericho, drawing courage from its message of faith and resilience.

Our outreach team from Nkhoma Eye Hospital travel across Malawi, running eye camps to diagnose and treat cataracts. Thanks to our community of supporters, Dani was diagnosed at one of our eye camps.

Returning home after surgery, he told us: “I was not able to see those hills; now I can see them clearly… I am very thankful to God that I was able to benefit from this and I pray others are able to continue to benefit from this as I have.”

With your support, we can find other people like Dani living needlessly blind and help them regain their sight and independence.

©CBM UK / Daniel Hayduk

Meet Isabelle ❤️

Isabelle’s mum, Soa told us that she noticed something was wrong with Isabelle’s eyes when she was just two years old.

Isabelle’s eye had developed a white spot and she’d often bump into things. Soa’s little girl was losing her sight to cataracts.

“What I want for my child is for her to be able to see like everyone else, to be able to go to school because she often cries and asks to go.”

Soa wants what all parents want – for their child to have a future full of opportunities.

Cataract operations are straightforward and can transform lives - enabling children like Isabelle to see clearly, go to school and play with their friends.

But for so many families like Isabelle’s, living in some of the world’s poorest places, the cost is simply out of reach.

Donate today: https://www.cbmuk.org.uk/educate/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=organic_social&utm_campaign=c0624ege

Father God, we pray for children around the world experiencing malnutrition. We pray for children around the world experiencing malnutrition. We pray for starving families and communities to gain access to food, clean water and medical treatment.

©CBM/Plateau Media

Girls with disabilities deserve to go to school. Do you agree?

But in poorer communities, girls face triple barriers: poverty, fewer enrolment opportunities, and gender bias.

This is wrong. We believe Every Girl, Everywhere should have the chance to learn, play and thrive.

We are over halfway towards our £50,000 goal to bring girls with disabilities into school. Donate today and you can help us make a difference for .

We are so grateful for our wonderful partnership with QAV Global!

Check out their latest blog post on supporting our work to tackle Neglected Tropical Diseases across some of the world’s poorest communities: https://qav.global/bringing-hope-to-people-living-with-ntds/

Meet Faith who has been supported to set up a kitchen garden to provide food and income for her family!

Faith’s kitchen garden is part of our Reducing Child Malnutrition in Kenya project, funded by Fundació Nous Cims. She has been provided with seedlings for her raised beds and drought tolerant seeds to grow food to eat and sell, which is helping to fight against poverty and malnutrition.

Faith has used some of her kitchen garden earnings to buy a water tank worth about £90, meaning she can now harvest water from the roof instead of having to walk every day to collect water!

Almighty God, help our hearts be filled with gratitude and thanksgiving for all your blessings. Help us to use them to serve others.

©CBM Global/Nelson Owoicho

Meet Rosemary who is an inclusion champion 🙌

Rosemary loves being a teacher at one of the model inclusive schools in our Inclusive Education project in Zimbabwe, with Leonard Cheshire Zimbabwe.

“The school has always had children with disabilities. But it’s better now because they’re integrated into the classes. Including the children is very good because it avoids discrimination. The child will just feel welcomed, feel at home.”

Rosemary told us about how her faith and the belief that “everyone is Christ-like” motivates her work.

We’re so thankful for amazing teachers like Rosemary ❤️



Photo: ©CBM UK/Thabani

My son “is now recovered. He is now out grazing the livestock with his brother.”

Malnourished children are more at risk of ill health, and of developing impairments which lead to disability. Alongside our amazing local partner DOM Spark, and funded by Fundació Nous Cims, we are running a project to reduce child malnutrition and improve mothers’ livelihoods and resilience to climate shocks like drought and flooding across Tharaka Nithi county in Kenya.

Miriam’s son was experiencing severe malnutrition when she joined our project’s Savings and Internal Lending Community (SILC) for mothers. Women deposit savings with the group and can take out small loans.

Miriam used her loan to buy two hens, using some of the eggs to feed her son: “I did not know that I could give eggs to my child, so he was severely malnourished”. The project provides nutrition advice to mothers of children with malnutrition.

Miriam started selling her extra eggs and hatching chicks until she had enough income to buy two goats. After selling the goats at a profit she was able to buy iron sheets to use on the roof of her house.

Now the chair of the SILC, Miriam’s success story has been replicated by other mothers. There now 18 groups like Miriam’s which are supported by the project, helping women develop a sustainable income so they can feed their families!

We believe every girl, everywhere deserves the chance to learn. With the help of our incredible local partners, we're making it happen:

👓 We want to provide pairs of glasses to children like Tinotenda and perform sight surgeries for children with visual impairments.

✏️ We want to supply wheelchairs and walking aids and make schools fully accessible with ramps and railings.

🎓 We want to train teachers to support children with disabilities and tackle stigma head-on.

Together, we can transform lives and open doors to education for all. Will you join us?